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Tuesday, February 24, 2015

My dear cousin is about to have her first baby! Like all good quilters, new baby means a new quilt is in order. I was most pleased to learn that the parents-to-be had chosen a forest animal theme for the nursery because I've been nursing (ahem) a Les Amis FQ bundle for at least a year, waiting for the right project.

I knew that I wanted a relatively simple pattern for this quilt, as well as one that would show off the larger prints in the collection. Love Patchwork and Quilting had an insert recently showcasing Jeni Baker's Vintage Summer collection and the cover quilt served as my original initial inspiration. However, I changed up the pattern significantly: I cut 5 inch charms instead of 7.5 inch square, and I placed by solids in opposite corners, rather than adjacent. I love the process of designing my own quilt - calculating the yardage and cut sizes, (hooray for quilt math) and the number of blocks needed get the sizing perfect.

I used a large piece of the coral bunny fabric for the quilt back, along with a few skinnier stripes of aqua. It was still a bit too narrow, so I added a strip of the binding fabric too. Isn't the wood grain the most perfect addition to a Forest Friend quilt? (Levi insisted in being in this photo and I obliged).

I hemmed and hawed over how to quilt this. I wanted the finished piece to be soft and snuggly, so dense quilting was off the table. In the end, I chose a simple cross-hatch on the diagonal.

I used a variegated thread by Sulky which is quiet lovely. I particularly like how the cross hatching creates a secondary pattern on the quilt front.

I haven't gotten around to having quilt labels printed. I'd like to try printing them on my inkjet printer, but first I'll need to design a Modern Balabusta logo! Any volunteers? In the meantime, I've been embroidering my labels. It takes extra time, but I think looks quite nice.

This is my first finished quilt of 2015 and I'm thrilled that a quilt I love to bits is going to a cousin I love to pieces! I hope her family finds warmth beneath it for years to come.

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

My latest obsession is darning my hand knit socks. Knitting gives me repetitive strain so knitting new socks is out of the question. My last pair of knit socks are full of holes, but I can't bear to throw them out. Enter a very cool article in the latest Uppercase magazine, about Tom van Deijnen and his Visible Mending project. I was totally inspired to repair my socks!

I read numerous articles and watched a bunch of YouTube videos and eventually found a technique I like called duplicate stitch. I even bought a darning egg to make my job easier! I'm almost finished repairing this pair of socks and am on the lookout for holes in my other woolens!

My darning project needed a pouch to hold the tools of the trade, obviously. I stitched up a large quilted zipped pouch. I just love it! I used two gorgeous prints from Katarina Roccella's latest line, Recollection. The outer fabric is quilted with gridlines and the overall effect is fabulous!

This is my sixth finished project of 2015. I'm excited to post about a quilt I completed recently, but I need to make sure it has been received first!

Sunday, February 8, 2015

I made another cowl, this time for my lovely boss. She asked for one as soon as I finished mine but it's taken me some time to get around to making it. I think I love it even more than my own!

I also made a mini fleece scarf for Lila. Levi is modelling it because Lila is napping. I made a large button hole using a long and narrow zigzag stitch. My kids love tucking the scarf end through the hole!